Judge Declares Mistrial In N.C. Cop Shooting Of Accident Victim

Jury Unable To Reach Verdict In Manslaughter Case Against North Carolina Cop Randall Kerrick

This case is so sad it looks like there’s not going to be a verdict anytime soon.

Via MSNBC reports:

A judge in North Carolina on Friday declared a mistrial in a police officer’s 2013 killing of unarmed former college football player Jonathan Ferrell.

That means that the voluntary manslaughter charge against Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Randall “Wes” Kerrick remains open.

Kerrick, 29, shot Ferrell, 24, in a confrontation following a traffic accident.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated over four days, taking several votes but never coming close to a unanimous decision on Kerrick’s fate. In its last vote on Friday afternoon, the jury was split 8-4.

At around 4:15 p.m. ET. the jury foreman told Judge Richard C. Ervin that the panel was deadlocked. Ervin asked if it would help if they broke for the weekend and returned on Monday, but the jury, in a show of hands, indicated it could go no further.

His fate still rests with prosecutors, who must decide whether to seek another trial.

The shooting unfolded on Sept. 14, 2013, after Ferrell, who’d once played defensive back for Florida A&M University, crawled from his wrecked car and staggered to a nearby house for help. A woman inside called 911 to report a possible break-in. Kerrick and two other officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to the scene.

Police dashcam footage showed officers pointing Tasers at Ferrell, who then ran. Kerrick, who’d been an officer for three years, stood in his path. He shouted for Ferrell to get on the ground, then shot Ferrell 10 times. Kerrick said he feared Ferrell was going to hurt him when he opened fire.

Authorities charged Kerrick with manslaughter hours after the shooting.

The officer’s defense attorney argued at the trial that dents on the home’s door indicated that Ferrell was force his way into the house, and stressed that he could have injured the officers even though he was not armed.

But prosecutors said Ferrell wasn’t a threat, and argued that the defense was trying to “demonize” him. They said he did not approach the officers in an aggressive manner, and even if Kerrick felt threatened, he should have used his Taser or fought him off.

Kerrick’s jury was racially diverse: seven white members, three blacks and two Latinos.

It’s hard being black out here. We can’t even seek help after surviving life threatening car accidents. Do you think the jury should have found Officer Kerrick guilty?